3 Aug 10 - "Over 1 million fish (now updated to 6 million) and
thousands of alligators, turtles, dolphins and other river wildlife
are floating dead in numerous Bolivian rivers in the three
eastern/southern departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Tarija.

"The extreme cold front that hit Bolivia in mid-July caused water temperatures
to dip below the minimum temperatures river life can tolerate. As a consequence,
rivers, lakes, lagoons and fisheries are brimming with decomposing fish and
other creatures.

Unprecedented

"Nothing like this has ever been seen in this magnitude in Bolivia. Inhabitants
of riverside communities report the smell is nauseating and can be detected as
far as a kilometer away from river banks.

Shortage of fish in markets

"River communities, whose livelihoods depend on fishing, fear they'll run out of
food and will have nothing to sell. Authorities are concerned there will be a
shortage of fish in markets and are more concerned by possible threats to public
health, especially in communities that also use river water for bathing and
drinking, but also fear contaminated or decaying fish may end up in market
stalls. T

"In university fish ponds and commercial fisheries the losses are also
catastrophic."